1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electric stapler with pencil sharpener in which an electric stapler and an electric pencil sharpener are integrated with each other as one unit.
2. Description of the Related Art
An electric stapler can automatically staple a plurality of sheets of paper together only by inserting the plurality of sheets of paper into a predetermined stapling position, thereby improving efficiency of office work that handles volumes of documentation or the like. As such an electric stapler, a conventional technique shown in FIG. 4 is known (see Japanese Patent Publication No. 2000-153469, for example).
This type of electric stapler can be operated as follows: AC power is stepped down to a predetermined voltage by a power transformer 105 and is then rectified and smoothed so as to obtain DC power. The DC power is supplied to a DC motor 108. The DC motor 108 drives a driving mechanism 107, thereby driving a crank rod 106 to pivotally move. The crank rod 106 moves down a hammer 103 to push out one staple from a staple array accommodated in a holder 109. Then, the staple penetrates through a bundle of paper put on a paper table 101, and a pair of legs of the staple are bent inward by means of a caulking plate 102 provided under the paper table 101. In this manner, the bundle of paper is stapled together. In this electric stapler, when a bundle of paper is put on the paper table 101, a switch lever (not shown) starts to operate to activate the DC motor 108. After a stapling operation, the DC motor 108 automatically stops. Therefore, efficiency of work for stapling the bundle of paper can be largely improved.
An electric pencil sharpener is used as a convenient tool in a site where a pencil is frequently used and various types of pencils are used, such as a site of design work, although the use of pencils is reduced because of diversification of writing tools such as a mechanical pencil. There are known various forms of electric pencil sharpeners (see Japanese Patent Publication No. 6-227199, for example).
FIG. 5 shows an exemplary electric pencil sharpener. When a pencil is inserted into an insertion port 110, a cutter 111 is driven to rotate by an AC motor 115. Thus, the cutter 111 sharpens an inserted end of the pencil into a conically shaped tip. Cutting waste generated by the cutter 111 is stored in a waste basket 112. In this manner, it is possible to quickly and cleanly sharpen the pencil only by inserting it into the electric pencil sharpener. Thus, efficiency of work frequently using pencils can be improved.
However, if it is demanded that both of the electric stapler and the electric pencil sharpener can be used, when those two devices are put on a desk, a useful area on the desk is unnecessarily reduced. Moreover, a component that can be shared by those two devices, such as a driving power source, are required doubly.